[Closed] Can a MTB commute as quickly as a Road bike?

No... but it can be more comfortable and more fun

What weeksy said. (I once owned a road bike, rode it about twice a year.)

So with the longer route home, with offroad elements in mind, is it possible to average the 25kmh on a mountain bike, without significantly increasing effort or heartrate, on the road ride on the way in?

In a word. No.

You need to put in more watts to average the same speed on an MTB. The alternative is accept you are slower for the same effort and just deal with the additional time.

I had some alternative off road routes on my commute that I would take on the way home on a sunny evening. I rode my light full-sus on the road on the way in and just went a bit slower.

Commute was 6 miles rather than 14 though.

Probably not. I got a bit fed up of riding my hardtail on the road, might be worth it if you can make your route mostly off road and don’t mind it taking longer.

For the same effort, a typical upright mtb position, I'd guestimate that same road/path route to be ~20kph.

Offroad that same effort might knock the speed down towards ~15kph (obviously massively effected by terrain and how dry the surface is).

But you'd have much more route options and comfort with something like a Whippet (£800/1k until tonight btw in latest sale) and wider/knobbly tyres.

25kph average is a reasonable lick for a commute given the nature of traffic and town /city roads and solo riding.

I'm going to say not likely to manage it without noticably more effort - on my mtb at a reasonable compromise pace I average 22-23 kph over 14k&160m and that's a fairly even split between urban and rural, on the road bike that's a dawdle.

Back in the days of normal commuting I tried a few rides with the MTB vs the gravel bike - thing is one the way [i]in[/i] to work I just want to get there asap, and do the offroad stuff on the way home. Found the MTB so much slower on the way in that the gravel bike was easily the best option for mixing it up. Cannondale Topstone would be ideal for this I'd think! My first one was a CAAD-X.

I once went through a phase of a long distance commute on a bike. 45 miles each way. I had it down to 2hrs 10 mins on my road bike and everything ached afterwards. Then 2hrs 20 mins on my carbon 29er (Cannonade F29) and it was much more comfortable.

I had fast-ish XC type tyres pumped up to around 35psi and the mtn bike weighs 11kg compared to 8kg for the road bike. I sold the road bike soon afterwards as I just didn't like it.

so are we saying the extra drag of off-road tyres and the less aerodynamic upright position would be the main factor of slowing me down?

I wouldnt rule out leaving earlier, but equally, i leave at 6:30 to get to work for just before 7:30 at the moment, so ideally dont want to have to leave much earlier.... sounds like thats the only option.

No. My old 90's MTB, has been in commute use a few times over the years. If you stick some silly 1.2" slicks on it, then yes it can be almost as quick on the road, but will be pant's off it.

It's currently in use for commutes down the canal, and tyre choice makes a difference of a few minutes, but that's all - I can't catch the lads on gravel bikes but pass everything else.

I rode fixed on the commute for many years - that was fast, although riding fixed meant I kept the top speed down, but still didn't stop me being hit too many times.

They are slower. If you can average 25kph on a gravel bike, then you won't manage to repeat that feat on a mtb unless you drastically increase your fitness.
Unless there are significant portions of the route where you are limited in pace by either poor road/path surface, or other road/path users.

I assume the three main factors between road vs MTB would be weight, tyre/rolling resistance and gearing. Maybe with a sprinkle of aerodynamics….?

Its flat.
Weight will have minimal effect.
Gears - XC 29er will probably top out at 34*10, with no significant downhill thats probably an adequate top gear

Tyres will have most impact.
If you've got a lot of speed up slow down type riding then acceleration will be slower vs gravel wheels.

Probably a bit of aerodynamics, being upright with your arms spread.

Also you are currently taking nearly an hour. A mtb will take you over an hour. Can you ride at your best in one less than ideal position for that long?

More drag, less aerodynamic, gearing is likely to be lower and hence slow down the top end unless you really like spin. Some loss of efficiency via the suspension
I doubt weight would really come into it on the flat.
So be slower but with an competitive xc bike you could probably get reasonably close but definitely more effort.

I did the 15 mile canal towpath commute on my MTB a few times if the CX was out of action. I could do 1'15" on the CX (towpath the whole way aside from crossing a couple of roads). MTB was always around 1'25", even considering the route in was almost all downhill and flat.

The ride home, flat and uphill was worse again.
An e-MTB would be OK, you could match the speed on that!

An e-MTB would be OK, you could match the speed on that!

25kph is right on the limiter of a legal ebike.

assuming there are corners, junctions where he slows or stops there would need to be significant stretches riding unassisted above the limiter needed to make up for this to acheive a 25kph average

No.
I use both, I average 17ish mph on my singlespeed road bike, 15ish mph on my geared HT.
But then I get a nicer route home if I'm on the MTB

A brain fart with no substance.

14 miles each way with some off road options as/when you fancy (realistically how often, twice a month?) I'd be looking at exactly what you have - a decent gravel bike. That way you have the speed you want most days when you just need to get there and back, but have the option of mixing in some off road.

so are we saying the extra drag of off-road tyres and the less aerodynamic upright position would be the main factor of slowing me down?

Yes

Weight could be an extra factor if riding much uphill, and gearing if you find yourself at high RPMs at top gear on the MTB.

are we saying the extra drag of off-road tyres and the less aerodynamic upright position would be the main factor of slowing me down?

MY issue wasnt particularly how fast the gravel or road bike v mtb was it was the effort it took. I was knackered after riding in to work on an MTB. But yeah, still down to the weight, tyres, lower gearing, upright position...

^^ this...
i ride a hybrid/gravl bike type thing to work.. 9.5 miles decent couple of hills gravelking sk tyres
it's fast.. to accelerate.. comfortable.. quite a laugh.. i think my average speed is just under 14mph usually... probably due to the hills
my point is, im ok fitness wise, but im still putting in significant effort to get to work in the time i need to, i wouldn't dream of dragging out my hardtail.. granted that's on proper trail/enduro tyres... I did consider getting a second set of wheels and tyres to do just this, but i dont think the 30/10 and 29er gearing would work for me? not sure.. currently on 44/10 650b on the gravel bike
i have even considered a drop bar proper gravel bike to make the commute slightly faster or potentially easier.

cool cool, all makes sense and i had a suspicion that the MTB wouldn't be able to match the pace.

Thanks for those sharing their real world experiences of using both.

This place is always such a good fountain of knowledge when it comes to riding.

Great Success!

Currently using my 90s Orange P7 as a commuter.

Something similar to these for tyres:

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/no/en/panaracer-gravel-king-sk-folding-tyre/rp-prod184761

and these as handlebars (cut down to 740mm):

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/no/en/ritchey-kyote-classic-handlebar/rp-prod206567

with bar ends mounted in the middle (so that it ends up looking kind of like a Jones bar) so that I can tuck out of the wind and I can make reasonable time. It's not a particularly noticeable difference in speed between this set up and my CX bike.

Obviously your route will be different but I should probably say:

On the road bike I'm a good 5 minutes quicker over the first half of my commute, which is pretty rural, once I'm into traffic there's very little difference between the two and I save about 1 minute total which is on the main uphill which is a traffic free cycle path.

All that being said I'm also travelling at a busier time of day - I leave at 7.45 to be at my desk for 8.30.
If I'm in the office for 6am the lack of traffic saves another 5 minutes or so on the road bike but it makes very little difference on the mtb.

I switch between my gravel bike and rigid MTB for commuting. Gravel averages around 23kph, MTB averages 17kph, although I usually take the more fun off road route when on the MTB so not a true like for like comparison. Both routes are around 10 miles each way and bit hilly.

The difference in real terms is only about 10 minutes, but I'm happy sacrificing a bit of time for the more enjoyable route away from cars and traffic. MTB is more comfortable too, but more effort.

Just in case it's not clear yet, no an MTB can't commute as quickly as a road bike.

I commuted for years on hardtails and rigid MTBs. Then for a few months recently on an old steel road bike, 10 gears (2 x 5) and got used to that. Got the rigid 27.5" mtb back up and running, semi slick tyre rear, worn out knobbly front, tyres pumped to 30-35psi, and singlespeed (geared for speed as flat area). Surprised at how much effort the commute on rigid mtb took. I could just about get there as fast, but would be heavily sweating by the time I got there, compared to faster time on the clapped out old road bike that for effort I'd class as a properly easy ride barely broke a sweat for.

However, hydraulic brakes and fun won the day. Will have gears for the MTB soon too which will allow me to take it easy when I need to.

Something similar to these for tyres:

The problem with those tyres is they are less useful offroad. With lots of modification you can get a "mountain bike" to be pretty quick/efficient to ride on the road but it would make it a lot less useful offroad.

not a chance, on good surfaces/tarmac, the topstone works pretty well offroad, i'd average 24-27km on 300-350m hour lunch run mainly tarmac.

I've replaced with a sonder camino which is great offroad, woodland singletrack and yorkshire bridleways, but i'm happy if i can get 22km an hour on it 1.9 x 650b gravelking sk wheels.

on a mtb, chunky tyres i barely get 16kmph on true offroad

Ignoring the fact you don’t want to use your gravel bike. Id get a second set of wheels,tyres and a cassette for the topstone the days you want to go off-road. You still be quicker on the commute then a MTB and be able to go off road on the way back. Anything you do to make a hardtail faster will make it closer to the gravel bike anyhow. I got a nice set of lightweight wheels and tires for my gravel bike which made it much more pleasant on the road and beefer tyres on the stock wheels to use on rougher rides and that worked well.

Found the MTB so much slower on the way in that the gravel bike was easily the best option for mixing it up.

Agree 100%.

In support of gravel bikes:

The suburban semi-off-road bits between my house and my work are nice, but somewhat tame, and mixed with road sections. On a MTB they'd be boring and the road sections hard work so a gravel bike is the perfect compromise. I guess that's fairly typical, although less valid if your commute goes through Whistler bike park.

Secondly, I like having options. If the weather's nice when I leave work, I'll take in a longer route home. Road, off-road or a mix, whatever suits. Or perhaps I'm tired / it's raining and I just want to get home quickly. If I needed to plan in advance to take a different bike, I would hardly ever bother.

I reckon it depends on your route too. If you are stop/starting all the way, then probably YES you can commute just as quickly on a (slick tyred) MTB
On the other hand if you are rolling most of the way then it's going to be hard to beat the road bike.
Pre-pandemic I was doing 18km each way - there's a single 2km stretch in the middle where I could get my head down and peddle without too much traffic, and zero junctions or traffic lights. That bit was always faster on the road bike. The remaining 16k were through typical London traffic, traffic lights, congestion, etc, and no noticable difference in speed. MTB was more comfy though

@Stainypants - a good shout. My bike is setup with panniers for carrying my lunch/work stuff. The setup works really well, but i wouldnt want to take them offroad, so maybe a second set of wheels and a decent back pack would be a good second option for the days going off road?

cheers once again for all the feedback folks!

You could always fit a set of aerobars and a narrow front tyre on the mtb for a more aero approach on faster sections. 😉

The problem with those tyres is they are less useful offroad.

I think there is a sweet spot in terms of tread where you can retain a lot of the grip off road (hardpack gravel, mud or anything loose you need some form of knobs) and still keep low rolling resistance on tarmac. I like those < 1mm cross cut type patterns for this.

Not really optimum for either one but good enough at both that they work well enough.

For me at least.

Edit: just realised the tyre I posted doesn't actually have the tread pattern I like but I thought it was close enough for illustration purposes.

My friend and I used to do a road ride together on our slicked up MTBs. Our pace was similar and neither pulled away. I was given a road bike and was miles quicker and had to stop to let him catch up.
The road bike got rid of.
This all makes my leading out a roadie from whyteleafe to Purley on my Kona lava dome with knobblies back in the day even more heroic.

The only thing that can make it compete for me is what shortcuts you have available. I used to hardtail commute like a bit of a (polite, safe) hooligan, shortcuts across parks, hopping up and down kerbs, it was brilliant fun. By contrast my single-speed road bike is a bit quicker but it's pretty dull most of the time. I end up doing many of the same shortcuts but have to be more careful so it doesn't feel as fun. This was over a much shorter distance too, I dunno if I'd have as much fun with it for 14 miles of a regular morning.

Ideally I'd now have a gravel bike for the canal commute, it's faster than the 90's MTB, but, and the big but, is wear and tear costs.

As it's flat, I'm using mainly the big ring and 3 or 4 gears. I have a relatively close ratio 8 speed cassette on. I wear out two sprockets quite quickly, but with 8 speed cassettes are cheap, and I've loads of part worn sprockets available. Now running to 10 or 11 speed would be expensive.

I do 13 miles in an hour or less on 2" Schwalbe Landcruisers with two heavy panniers.

I used to hardtail commute like a bit of a (polite, safe) hooligan, shortcuts across parks, hopping up and down kerbs, it was brilliant fun.

These types of commutes are what hardtails or rigid MTBs are awesome for! Mine used to be the same, with shortest route was just under 4 miles but usually did 5 or 6.

Since moving out of town to a village, there's far fewer routes options, shortest direct route is just over 5 miles along busier roads than when I lived in town. A chore on the MTB, and no off road without adding an extra mile or so, and very little in the way of streety jibby bits either.

Yes.

I did it on an XC bike, 3x chainset and 29 x 2.2 Conti Cross Kings

Road in, off-road home.

I used veloviewer to analyse my commutes when I was in London. My hybrid was just 1mph faster than my road bike (14.5 vs 13.5mph average ish) measured over a few thousand miles. I'd imagine on open roads, the difference would be the other way around and the average speeds a fair bit higher.

Am I the only person that finds a road bike more comfortable than an MTB for sustained periods sat in one position?

I would much prefer to do a 28 mile a day commute on a road bike than MTB

In fact doing what op describes I would scrap the gravel bike and get a road bike.

28 miles a day is quite enough without wanting to extend it

Are there many traffic lights OP? On my commute the XC hardtail was around the same as the roadbike, but there were over 20 sets of lights in 13 km. I did find I'd put more effort in on the bike I was enjoying more, but it probably had negligible effect on total journey time. XC tires on the hardtail pumped up hard for the ride in, dropped a bit for the trails on the way home.

The difference between a headwind day and a tailwind day would be greater than the difference between bikes for me.

wondered this... in my search for faster/easier commute.. would a drop bar bike suit me better.. my hands are pretty done after my nearly 10 miles...
but hten.. do i want to be head down... with breaks where they are on drop bar bikes.. makes me anxious... 😀

Am I the only person that finds a road bike more comfortable than an MTB for sustained periods sat in one position?

I always used drops as I absolutely hate flat bars for anything non-technical.

Then I started experimenting with high sweep bars on my mountain bikes (25 degrees). I didn't really get on with them but they were a revelation once I put them on the commuter.

Now that I've added bar ends in the middle (bar middles?) that's the perfect set up for me. I use the bar ends when I'm trying to tuck down and pedal efficiently and then I use the grips for when I need more control or want to cover the brakes.

Currently using my 90s Orange P7 as a commuter.

I use my old P7 as a commuter too, with very similar tyres - Kenda Small Block 8s

I had a regular 14 miles each way. I'd whack about 70psi in the tyres in the morning with a track pump, lock out the forks and do all tarmac on the way in. Then on the way home I'd let the pressure out of the tyres, unlock the forks and do an off road route home via bridleways and a bit of singletrack

Happy days! 😀

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An mtb buddy of mine remarked, after a 20 miler on his slicked up mtb “it is sooo obvious that you could leave me for dead, any time you wanted”
I was on a cx/light tourer, shit tyres, mudguards, steel frame/forks. The bike weghts were pretty close, so it was all rolling resistance and aero.
Normally, our fitness was extremely similar.
And a proper road bike would be quicker still.

I'm impressed at the op's speed.
I would be a sweaty mess in the office if I rode in at that speed.

Am I the only person that finds a road bike more comfortable than an MTB for sustained periods sat in one position?

For the same period of time I find the MTB more comfy but I do ride road bike a lot less and could probably do with messing around with the stem length etc on mine. For any sustained period though I would get a lot further on the road bike.

I use a mtb, but that’s only as my commute is 4 miles in, I tried the road bike but with roadworks for the commonwealth games and constant diversions closures at 4am it wasn’t fun, before that I used an Orange speedworks for 3 years and it was spot on, I know its more flat bar gravel than mtb but was a very capable commuter/canal and trail bike as and when I needed. Unfortunately lost that and trying to source a replacement still after 6 months, I now use a trek x-caliber 7 a cheap HT but it’s done the job well so far but really want to replace the orange with something similar.

Am I the only person that finds a road bike more comfortable than an MTB for sustained periods sat in one position?

I find drop bar bikes more comfortable even for short periods (i.e. an hour).

As for OP, I would just try the gravel bike on the off road parts as it will be fine.

I’d say yes.
Aerodynamics are still the largest reason for the speed differential. On my Scott Spark 920 and Rocket Ron’s I can close almost all of the difference by using clip-on aero bars.
I have a 17 mile road loop I smash out if nothing else is motivating me and I have done that at 19.7mph on the MTB.
Quickest road bike time without clip-ons is only 20.1mph.

Whilst i have a gravel bike, i oddly dont want to ride it off road

Yes that is odd.

(i got it as a more relaxed geo road bike… rightly or wrongly!).

Which is exactly why I bought a Specialized Diverge. At my age and level of (lack of?) fitness I wanted something other than a stretched out race bike. Having bought it I have discovered using it off-road is (unsurprisingly) excellent. I regularly use tracks and bridleways hereabouts to avoid the worst major roads even if what I am doing is predominantly a road ride. Having said that at the beginning of this year I spent the first couple of months exclusively on the MTB in order to work harder than I would have to on the gravel bike.

So it depends what you want. A fast commute or a bit of hard work as training.